Why Scotland’s fermented food sector is ‘soaring’
The sector is soaring. Currently, the global fermented food market is forecast to be worth over $989 billion by 2032, but even that doesn’t include what’s bubbling and fizzing in restaurant kitchens and the increasing number of people interested in home fermentation.
“Fermentation is a natural process by which sugar in food is changed into alcohol, organic acids or gases by bacteria, yeasts or fungi,” explains registered nutritionist Dr Laura Wyness, author of Eating Well For Menopause.
In alcoholic fermentation, sugars are broken down by yeast which is then converted into alcohol. In lactic acid fermentation, the process used in many of these newly popular products, bacteria break down sugars that are then turned into lactic acid.
Robin Sherriff is CEO of The Fermenters Guild, a trade body he founded after discovering that no advisory service existed to guide new fermentation businesses.
Sherriff launched Koji Kitchen in 2022, making koji – the base ingredient for miso and other products. The Fermenters Guild is now incorporated with more than 150 member businesses and individuals, including chefs, producers, educators and researchers, and an advisory board of fermentation experts across the UK.
The guild offers guidance, networking and support including discounted nutritional and biological testing to help get products to market. The guild is partnering with the biotechnology department at London Metropolitan University to launch the Fermentation Hub for fermentation academia.
Sherriff says the growth in fermentation is mainly driven by flavour, health and sustainability, but also as a reaction against the current food system: “I think people are starting to realise that our food system is a bit broken. Fermentation feels a bit radical, a bit punk, like we’re pushing back against the system that we don’t really like.”
He adds: “There’s a big push for flavour. High-end chefs have caught on to the idea that they can target fermentation to pull out really specific flavours. And those specific flavours are very popular in places like Noma in Copenhagen and Silo London which are then replicated in other restaurants, which filters down to popular food on TV.”
Customer familiarity with fermented products has increased dramatically in recent years. The public understanding of fermented products has changed significantly since Ruth Munro launched her business Edinburgh Fermentarium eight years ago. She produces a range of fermented vegetable products including kimchi, sauerkraut and pickles, sold both direct to customer and wholesale.
“When I first started doing farmers’ markets, some people knew about fermented products but others would make a face and say ‘Oh no, that’s weird’,” she recalls. “Now people stride up to the stall and say ‘Oh, I know all about this. I need to help my microbiome.’ Everybody’s become so much more educated in that field. I’ve seen a massive change in public perception.”
Many consumers are keen to learn how to safely ferment at home too. “I do loads of workshops for kimchi, sauerkraut and kombucha,” says Munro, “then if each participant then tells one person about fermented foods or drinks, it’s spreading the word like mycelium.”
Gut health has become a buzzword, popping up as a promise on food packaging, and in the titles of new cookbooks. The citizen science ZOE project led by Dr Tim Spector has raised awareness of the importance of a healthy gut microbiome in recent years.
Sherriff asks: “Did researchers start studying gut health more because fermentation became more popular? Or was it the other way around? Either way there’s been a massive increase in scientific studies on the gut microbiome in recent years. Loads of people come to fermented foods because they are aware that fermented foods have a probiotic load, so they become interested for health reasons.”
Nutritionist Wyness cautions: “Not all fermented foods are good for you, like too much wine or cider. Also, while fermented foods are always made with micro-organisms, not all fermented food has live microbes. For example, the live cultures in sourdough bread die off during the baking. However, some evidence suggests sourdough bread may still be more beneficial compared to non-fermented wholewheat bread.
“The evidence on the health benefits of fermented food is actually quite limited. However, the research conducted so far does suggest a range of likely benefits. Fermented foods can increase the diversity of beneficial bacteria in the gut which form short-chain fatty acids that are good for our overall health. Some fermented foods (like sauerkraut and kimchi) provide fibre, which help beneficial bacteria to thrive in the gut. Kefir, kombucha and tempeh produce anti-inflammatory compounds during fermentation.”
It’s not only the gut that can benefit, studies suggest. Wyness continues: “Fermented foods contain organic acids which may help reduce blood pressure, improve blood-sugar control and support the immune system. Some molecules such as the brain messenger molecule gaba (or gamma-aminobutyric acids) found in some fermented foods have a calming effect on the brain, and so may benefit mental health.”
Fermented foods also have the potential to increase the body’s absorption of nutrients, and some fermented foods may be easier to tolerate for individuals with IBS or an intolerance to gluten or lactose.
Concerns about sustainability are also driving the fermentation trend. “People are becoming way more aware of the environmental impact of food waste and the stresses it puts on the food system,” says Sherriff.
“Fermentation is the natural solution to preserve and use up excess food.”
Both flavour and sustainability motivate chefs Eilish Leyland-Jones and Pragnesh Patel. The pair opened popular Edinburgh restaurant Mara’s Picklery in 2024. Every vibrant dish has pickled or preserved elements, with shrubs and cordials made from trimmings like fennel tops.
A plate of pickles with bread and cornichon butter is always on the menu but the selection changes constantly. Leyland-Jones says: “When chefs are looking for ways to cook seasonally and sustainably, fermentation is an ideal way to do that. Living in Scotland we have smaller produce windows so you want to preserve them. We use the best organic produce and don’t want to waste anything.
“Lots of our most popular pickles happened by just experimenting,” says Patel, “like our chai pickled grapes.”
The crossover of the demographics of people interested in flavour, health and sustainability covers large swathes of the population who are now taking an interest in fermentation, and there’s a vibrant, growing sector ready to help consumers explore both traditional products and new food frontiers. n
The Science of Fermentation by Robin Sherriff will be published on October 9 (DK).
Dr Laura Wyness is a registered nutritionist and author of Eating Well For Menopause (Let’s Talk Food Publishing 2023).
Mara’s Picklery, 21C Strathearn Rd, Edinburgh EH9 2AB maraspicklery.com/menu
The Edinburgh Fermentarium sells fermented products wholesale and direct to customers, and offers regular workshops. edinburghfermentarium.co.uk
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